U.S. announces $33-million in bounties for information on Al-Shabab leaders

With al-Qaeda teetering following a campaign of drone strikes in Pakistan, the U.S. upped the pressure on one of the terror group’s African affiliates on Thursday, offering $33-million for information on the leaders of Al-Shabab.

The rewards placed on the heads of the top seven leaders of the Somali extremist group — which has formally declared its allegiance to al-Qaeda — are the first posted for al-Shabab through the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program.

Al-Shabab, which emerged out of Somalia’s lawless chaos, is a key priority for Western security officials, who are concerned it has become a breeding ground for a new generation of violent extremists intent on waging global terrorism.

The group was behind suicide bombings in Uganda that killed 70, and last year it called for terrorist attacks against Canada and other Western countries. Several radicalized Canadian Somalis have joined Al-Shabab, leading to fears they might return to conduct attacks.

Up to $7-million is being offered for information on the location of Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed, the founder and operational commander of al-Shabab, while $5-million rewards have been pledged for his four top associates: Ibrahim Haji Jama, who trained and fought in Afghanistan; Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, a duel citizen of Somalia and Sweden; Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud and Mukhtar Robow, the group’s spokesman and spiritual leader. Zakariya Islmail Ahmed Hersi, the head of intelligence, and the media operations chief Abdullah Yare, are the subject of $3-million rewards.

The announcement comes as the focus of international counter-terrorism efforts is shifting away from Pakistan, where al-Qaeda has been decimated by targeted missiles strikes, to the array of regional affiliates that have adopted al-Qaeda’s tactics and ideology.